Summary
My research and teaching interests include a variety of topics related to political and economic development. Currently, my research focuses on two main areas: 1) the politics of economic reform, and 2) taxation and state capacity. Work related to these interests has appeared or is forthcoming in the American Political Science Review, Comparative Politics, Journal of Conflict Resolution, Journal of Democracy, Journal of Politics, Peace Review, Perspectives on Politics, Political Science Quarterly, Studies in Comparative International Development, World Development, and as chapters in edited volumes. My book, After Neoliberalism? The Left and Economic Reforms in Latin America (Oxford University Press 2012), studies the economic policies of left-of-center governments in Latin America, focusing on the role that party systems play in facilitating or hindering economic transformations. The book won the Latin American Studies Association Tomassini Award in 2014. I am also the editor of The Political Economy of Taxation in Latin America (Cambridge University Press 2019).
I teach “Latin American Politics, Economy, and Society” (GOVT 3293, DSOC 3290, LATA 3290), “War and the State” (GOVT 4403), “Politics of Energy and Natural Resources” (GOVT 4274), and Comparative Methods (6053) at Cornell. I have also taught courses in Comparative Politics, Latin American Politics, Globalization and World Affairs, and Statistics at Harvard, Georgetown, and Duke. While teaching at Harvard, I received the Derek Bok Distinction in Teaching Award in 2008. In 2013, I received the Stephen and Margery Russell Distinguished Teaching Award at Cornell.
I received my PhD in political science from Georgetown University and a masters in public policy from Duke University, where I was a Fulbright scholar. Before joining the Government Department I was a fellow at Cornell’s Polson Institute for Global Development between 2008 and 2010. Previously, I served as Director of Public Affairs in Mexico’s Consumer Protection Agency.
You can find more about my research, replication data, and myself by visiting my website: http://www.arts.cornell.edu/gaf44/Index.html
Research Focus
- the politics of economic reform
- taxation and state capacity
Publications
Books
- The Political Economy of Taxation in Latin America (Edited Volume, Cambridge University Press, 2019)
- After Neoliberalism? The Left and Economic Reforms in Latin America (New York: Oxford University Press 2012)
Articles
- “The Militarization of Law Enforcement: Evidence from Latin America,” Perspectives on Politics, forthcoming (with Jessica Zarkin)
- “The Consequences of Militarizing Anti-Drug Efforts for State Capacity in Latin America: Evidence from Mexico,” Comparative Politics 51, 1 (October 2018).
- “Building Support for Taxation in Developing Countries: Experimental Evidence from Mexico,” World Development 105, 5 (May 2018).
- “Borrowing Support for War: The Effect of War Finance on Public Attitudes toward Conflict,” Journal of Conflict Resolution 61, 5 (May 2017) (with Sarah Kreps)
- “Latin America's New Turbulence: Mexico's Stalled Reforms," Journal of Democracy 27, 2 (April 2016)
- “Financing Security through Elite Taxation: The Case of Colombia’s Democratic Security Taxes,” Studies in Comparative International Development 49,4 (December 2014)
- “Political Parties at War: A Study of American War Finance 1789-2010,” American Political Science Review 107, 4 (November 2013) (with Sarah Kreps)
- “The Foreign Policy Consequences of China’s Economic Rise: A Study of China’s Commercial Relations with Africa and Latin America, 1992-2006,” Journal of Politics 75:2 (April 2013) (with Sarah Kreps)
- “Mexico’s 2012 Presidential Election,” Journal of Democracy (January 2013)
- “Making Migrant-Government Partnerships Work: Insights from the Logic of Collective Action,” Political Science Quarterly 127, 3 (Fall 2012)
- “Statist vs. Pro-Market: Explaining Leftist Governments’ Economic Policies in Latin America,” Comparative Politics 42, 4 (July 2010)
- “NAFTA’s Migration Record: Unfulfilled Expectations?” Peace Review 20, 4 (Winter, 2008-2009)
